Philippe koch



l nitrh vfatta getint @Hirn PHILIPPE Koen, or New HAVEN, ooNNEorIo UT. ALater@ Patent No. 68,089, dated August 27, 186i.

l IMPROVED WOODEN PAVEMENT.

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TO ALL WHOMIT MAY CONCERN:

` Beit known that I, PHILIPPE KOCH, of the city and county of New Haven,in the State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Blocks for Paving Streets, Roads, &c.; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of theconstruction, character, and operation of, the same, reference being had'tp the accompanying drawing, which makes part of this specification,which drawing is a perspective view of one complete block and a portionof an adjoining'one, showing the form of the upper surface and themanner of connectingrorjoining the blocks when set.

My improvement consists Vin making square or other rectangular blocks ofwood ofsuitable length (with the grain of the wood) to suit thecharacter of the streetor road, and of such horizontal dimensions asshall be found most convenient and serviceable in each case, andsuitably bevelled upward and downward for a suitable distance from theends, and to be set in the ground or sand, thes'ame as prepared'stonesare, (as of the Belgian pavement, for example,) and the upper surfacecut to' a suitable depth into squares or rectangular forms, so that thespaces may be filled with dirt to make it easy and safe for horsestotravel upon, as they will not slip.

I make the block for paving of Whiteoak, or any other suitable wood,sawed, split, or cut into `square blocks, as represented in the drawing,of suitable dimensions to be convenient for setting or laying thepavement, say from six to twelve inches square, in the horizontaldirectionsior across the grain) and from eight to ten inches in thevertical line, (in the direction of the grain,) according totheicharactcr of the ground or use to be made of the street or road; andI cut or divide the upper surface of each block into small squares, sayfrom one to two inchessquare, as represented at A A, 85o., cutting thespaces bothY ways from one-half to three fourths of an inch in width, asrepresented at Z1 and c, and from one to two inches in depth, asrepresented at i d and c, which maybe readily done by a plou'ghing orgrooving machine, by causing the blocks vto passV through in anyconvenient manner to suit th'e'design of the work; and I bevel the upperend, on all sides, of each block, as represented at g, h, and 7c, sothat where two blocks, as B and C, come together, they will leave a.space at the top, as represented at g g-g, of about thel same dimensionsat the extreme top as the spaces orlch'annelswhich.

are cut in the blocks; and I also bevel the block, on all sides, at thebottom or lower` end, as represented at D, E, F, and G, so that theymaybe iiorced into the ground more readily, and also it and set moresteadily in their proper positions.l 4

Having made the bloclgs, as before described, I prepare the-streetl orroad in the same way as for paving with prepared stones, and then setlthe blocks in the ground or sand side by side, as shown at lB and C,and set them down the same as stone blocks, and then I'ill4 the channelsor spaces 6, c, d, e with sand in tlie nsualway, so that if there shouldbe any looseness p between the blocks (as B and C) the sahd 'will rundown the inclined sides, asatg g g, between the blocks so as to till thespaces perfectly solid, so as to bind and always keepythem4 steady andfirm. By the action of the feet of the horses and whe'els of thecarriages, the corners and edges of the small square surfaces willbeforced or bruised olf and broomed down so as to confine the sand inthe grooves, which will 'give the pavement a general evenness, with aslight waving, so as to bel easy to the horses feet, and Will not beslippery. Instead of ploughing the grooves parallel with the sides ofthe block, they may be cut diagonally, and the blocks may be made aselongated rectangles or hexagons, but .I prefer the squarev I amawarethatlwooden blocks set in iron frames have been used in England, asdescribedin Newtons Journal, first series, volume 9, pages 197 to 202;also, that Stephen Cary obtained a patent, dated February 8,.,

1841, for using large quadrangular blocks with theirvertical sides cutalternately concave and convex, and,

although the blocks were so bevellcd upward as to leave a space aroundthem, yet each block 'was left smooth;

on the whole of its upper surface, which caused horses to slip so badly'that it was discarded; also, that Samuel.' Nicolson obtained a patent,dated August 8, 1854s, for the use of small-,blocks set alternately withblocks of` about one-half their length, so as to form recesses to b elled with gravel and tar, or otherrcemento cement the gravel, and alsothe small wooden blocks, together, or (he says) the blocks may besecured together byhwooden pins,and he uScsta-rred paper, boards, orlime mortar 'to prepare the foundation on'which `his pavement is torest. This (if the small blocks were not irregularly forced into theground so as to destroy the evenness ofthe road) would make the pavementso .cstly as to forbid its use.4 Iy therefore do not 'claim either ofthese methods'v as my invention, nor do I desire 'to use either; butwhat I'claim as my invention, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,is-- The construction and arrangcrnentvot' wooden paving-blocks nthemanner and for the purpose hereinv described and set forth.

PHILIPPE KOCH.

Witnesses:

E. W. BALDWIN, R. FIrzcnRALDI

